Brand wins XD Hard Charger Award

Hawaiian surfer Benji Brand is taking home a set of XD Series wheels as the proud winner of the second-annual XD Hard Charger Award.

The 21 year-old earned the nod based on his performance in overall competition, free surfing, wipeouts and XXL wave selection throughout the six-week contest series that sees the world’s top pros join locals on Hawaii’s North Shore.

Top pro Jamie O’Brien, who is sponsored by KMC Wheels, made the announcement January 15 with a post on his Instagram account, which has more than 800,000 followers. Within a day, the single post had received more than 5,000 “likes.”